Dragonoak (64 page)

When
confronted with the reality of Felheim, Claire had been brave.
She'd chosen to fight, to save Felheim and Kastelir at the cost of
everything she'd ever known, and when the same task had fallen to
her brother, he'd blindly followed the King's commands. He'd gone
too far to ever turn back of his own volition.

“Two
days,” Claire murmured, scrunching the parchment up and throwing it
into the fire. “Rylan wants to meet in two days.”

The
flames twisted the parchment to ash in a matter of seconds, but we
all kept our eyes fixed on the flickering orange and gold. The pane
would never stop Kouris from coming into Kyrindval, and so it was
all the more important to her that she remained outside of the
tribe of her own agency. We'd only passed through the dragon-bone
gate in order to talk things through with her, but now we'd said
all we needed to, Claire and I sat motionless, minds wrapped around
something that rendered our surroundings obsolete.

The
three of us fell asleep in the grass, under the stars.

When
dawn came and an entire day still stood between me and Rylan, I
began to feel the minutes being torn from between my fingers. I was
too confident; I was assuming Rylan wouldn't be prepared for the
presence of a necromancer. Needing to be the one to get answers for
Claire was the only thing stopping me from taking it all
back.

Kouris
left us to track down breakfast, and I returned to Kyrindval with
Claire. She assured me that she didn't need me to stay with her,
and I squeezed her hand as I went, intent on keeping myself
distracted all day.

Draeis
was delighted to inform me that it was my turn to clean the cabin,
and I was disproportionally glad to have something to do. My
morning was lost to scrubbing down brightly coloured lengths of
fabric on a washboard taller than I was, washing every surface in
the communal rooms with the aid of an upturned bucket for a step,
gathering up bowls and cups left around the living area, and
putting books back onto shelves.

I swept
the floors, and by the time I was done, I'd almost managed to
forget what tomorrow would bring. I helped myself to a lunch of
bread and cheese, wondered whether washing the worktops for a
second time would distract me once more, and decided to head out in
search of Sen.

Her
cabin wasn't far from Claire's. I caught sight of her through one
of the windows, and waved my hands above my head to catch her
attention.

“Rowan.
H-hello,” she said, at the door seconds later. “Is something
wrong?”

“Everything's fine, Sen,” I took care to reassure her. “I
just felt like coming to see you.”

Her
worried smile slipped into a warm one, and she stepped to the side,
holding the door wide open for me.

Sen
showed me to her room. Blocks of wood of varying sizes were stacked
in the far corner of her desk, and the piece in the centre was
slowly taking on the shape of a raven with its wings spread out.
The work was so intricate I was convinced she was merely carving
through a shell of wood to uncover the bird trapped within, and I
pressed my fingertips to some of the finished feathers, half
expecting them to move at my touch.

“Did you
make the birds in Claire's room, too?” I asked, taking a seat when
Sen stood with her hands on the back of an armchair, cushions
pushed into place.

“She's
always liked birds, so...” Sen said softly, fiddling with the end
of her braid. “I hoped they might cheer her up.”

“I'm
sure they did,” I said sincerely, smiling as she sat opposite
me.

Sen's
room wasn't far removed from her cabin in Orinhal, and I staved off
an encroaching sense of guilt by not mentioning how sorry I was.
She didn't need the fire to be brought up over and over
again.

“How are
you finding being back in Kyrindval?” I asked her.

“I,
ah... I only came here, two years ago. When...” Sen paused, tapping
the scars where a horn ought to have been. “It's so much bigger
than m-my tribe, and I'm worried that I'll never get used to it.
But the Marshal—oh, she says I should call her Claire, but... but
she's here, so I don't mind it. And Kidira and Akela and you too,
Rowan. I like that you're all here, even if...”

“Even if
we didn't have much choice,” I said, finishing the sentence for her
when she glanced off to the side, grazing her claws against the
side of her throat. “We're all happy you're here too,
Sen.”

Smiling
bashfully, Sen stuttered for something to say, eventually settling
on, “Oh—ah, I just remembered. W-would you come with me? If you
don't mind.”

Sen led
me into the kitchen, apologising profusely for the dishes that been
left half-washed with my arrival, and through the back door to a
garden that seemed small, by pane standards. A fence ran around the
flowerbeds lining the perimeter, attached to the gardens of other
cabins, and in the centre stood a chicken coop, some feet off the
ground.

From all
the clucking going on inside, I could only discern that the
chickens were more than a little busy. I crouched in front it as
Sen did, holding out a handful of grain and sprinkling it on the
ledge between the entrance and ramp. A few of the chickens set
aside what they were doing in order to peck at the offering, and I
smiled to see Sen smile.

Carefully, Sen reached a hand inside, and none of the
chickens fretted in the least. Two of them skidded around, ducking
beneath her arm to get at the last of the grain, and Sen withdrew
her hand, fingers curled in just enough for her claws to touch the
heel of her palm.

A chick,
no more than a day old, spread out its fluffy wings, peering
curiously between her fingers.

“I
thought Akela might...” Sen murmured, stretching her fingers out
and cupping her hands together. “But I'm n-not sure if she was
serious.”

“She'll
love it,” I said, leaning against Sen's side to get closer to the
chick and the tiny noises it was making. “If Akela says something,
she always means it.”

Sen
grinned brightly, bringing her hands closer to her chest when the
chick began to get too curious about what laid beyond her
fingers.

“I'll be
gone tomorrow. There's something important I have to do, but
Akela's going to be here. Just in case something... just in case,”
I said. “Akela will be with Claire all day. You should give her the
chick then and spend the day with them. They'll both be happy to
have you there.”

“O-of
course,” she said, gently returning the chick to the coop. I hadn't
wanted to worry her, but Sen had spent the last two years worrying.
The fact that she took it in her stride was hardly a good thing.
“Whatever the Marshal... ah, whatever Claire needs.”

I spent
the rest of the afternoon with her, feeding the birds and helping
with the last of the cleaning in the kitchen. Sen made us tea and I
sat opposite her at the table, listening to her gain more and more
confidence with the more she told me about her latest book, until
she was speaking without stuttering, without worrying about her
words quite so much.

I left
when dinnertime drew close, wanting to help Sen but having already
promised Draeis that I'd be home in time to eat. I hugged her as I
went, startling her in way that left her smiling, and found myself
ready for whatever awaited me tomorrow, now that I knew Claire
would have Sen by her side all day.

I
managed to take a single step out of the cabin before my mood
turned sour.

Kidira
came to a halt at the bottom of the steps.

“I came
to see Sen. As much company as possible would serve Claire well
tomorrow,” Kidira said flatly, and I stepped to the side. Kidira
took the steps at her own pace, pausing with her fingers wrapped
around the handle. “Rowan. I—”

“I'm
sorry, alright. I'm sorry for what I said,” I blurted out, needing
to get it off my chest and not wanting to hear her say anything
more. “I shouldn't have told you like that.”

Kidira
stepped back, forcing me to meet her gaze, expression so steely I
doubted whether I'd really just apologised.

“There
is bad blood between us, Rowan, and I have neither the time nor
energy to set things right,” she said, irritated by the seconds she
was wasting in talking to me, “But we have to find a way to work
together. You understand the importance of that, don't
you?”

There
was something different in the way she was talking to me. There
wasn't a hint of warmth in her words, but when she fixed her eyes
on me, she didn't stare straight through me.

“I get
it,” I said, “I'm not going to cause any problems for Kyrindval or
Claire.”

I didn't
wait for a response. I walked away without looking back, willing my
legs to keep working at an even, steady pace, and Kidira didn't
call out after me.

The
morning came far too soon.

I slept
without gaining anything from resting, dreaming of crumbling
mountain faces.

Prince
Rylan had been specific in his demands. We were to meet him at
midday beyond the town of Yastin, ten miles from the foot of the
mountains. For every hour we delayed, he'd march his army a mile
forward. Quite the set of conditions for a man claiming he only
wanted to talk, in order to come to an agreement.

Kidira,
Claire, Akela, and Sen were waiting for me at the gate, along with
Charley and another horse. The morning had an appropriate feel to
it. Last night's heat had only been washed away in favour of damp
humidity, and grey clouds swarmed the sky, making it seem as though
the sun had had a hard time rising, that morning.

Claire
stepped away from the group to greet me, and I could see in her eye
that she was having seconds thoughts, was considering going to face
Rylan herself.

“Are you
certain you wish to go with them, Rowan?” she asked me. “It's going
to be dangerous. More dangerous than you can imagine.”

“The past two years have been more dangerous than I could've
imagined,” I said, fingertips brushing the back of her wrist. “I
want to do this. I mean, I don't
want
to do this. It's not my idea of
fun. But I want to be able to help, and I know that I can. You
don't have to worry about me.”

“Of
course I shall worry about you,” she said, sighing softly. She
kissed me briefly and said, “I won't keep you. Rylan's never been
one for idle threats.”

Kidira
and Akela said a quiet goodbye to one another, and Kidira strapped
her spear to her back, unwilling to let Rylan think for a moment
that she had any qualms about fighting. Akela slapped me on the
back, bemoaning how unfair it was that she didn't get to come along
with us, but supposed that she could spend the day beating Sen and
Claire at cards.

Kidira
and I led our horses away from Kyrindval and met Kouris by a path
I'd yet to take. She greeted me with a smile and tilted her head
towards Kidira, and I knew the day's conversation wouldn't be much
more riveting than that, until we reached Rylan.

The path
was far wider than the ones I'd taken in the past, beaten into
shape by pane wishing to lead horses and other livestock up and
down the mountain. It grew steep in some places, causing Charley to
stomp his hooves against the ground and take fretful steps
backwards, but Kouris reached out a hand, placed it against his
chest and gently eased him down.

With a
low rumble from the sky, the dark clouds burst, turning the dusty
ground dark and slick within seconds. We stuck as close to the
mountainside as we could, but were soaked by the time we reached
the foot of the mountain. The clouds began to part, clear skies
shining through.

It'd
taken hours to get down and around the mountain, but the rest of
the journey was straightforward. We rested for a handful of
minutes, eating and drinking and giving the horses a chance to calm
down. Kidira idly patted Charley's mane on the way back to her own
horse, and we set off in the direction of Yastin, following Kouris'
lead.

I'd
taken lengths with my appearance, that morning, in the hopes that
it'd give me the confidence I'd need to speak up around Rylan. I'd
pulled on a new shirt and clean trousers, had even made the effort
to wear boots, and did what I could to comb my unruly hair into
place. The sun had finally banished the clouds and I was dry again,
but the rain had done its damage and the stillness of the air made
breathing a chore.

Rylan's
letter had said he'd be waiting outside of Yastin. He hadn't said
how many soldiers he'd have behind him, but I'd expected dozens,
not hundreds.

I
could've been dressed as a Knight or a Queen and I wouldn't have
been prepared.

A line
of soldiers stretched from one end of the horizon to the other,
blocking Yastin from view with a sea of green and gold. They stood
with great, rectangular shields almost the size of them held in
front of their chests, a spear in their other hand, base rested
against the ground. They were unmoving, well-trained enough to be
mistaken for stone, from such a distance. Rylan didn't need a
fraction of them to face us. He simply wanted us to know how
extensive his forces were, how many soldiers he could afford to
bring along to make a point, while the rest of the territories,
Orinhal included, remained under his control.